James Barlow: The 2024 Mystery of Online Mushroom Trafficking

Originally Syndicated on June 24, 2024 @ 12:38 pm

James Barlow, a Las Vegas resident, was taken into custody by federal law enforcement and sentenced to three years in jail for running a global dark web hallucinogenic mushroom marketplace. Let’s examine James Barlow’s study in more detail:

For many people, the dark web remains mysterious. For others, it’s a strange wonderland. It will continue to expand and turn into an even more fantastical paradise when major technological improvements are achieved over the next 10 years. The “spicy” reputation of the dark web was maintained by a single individual operating out of Las Vegas.  

James Barlow, a Dark Web entrepreneur: Who Is He? 

James Barlow lived the high life in a Vegas mansion, drove several Tesla vehicles, bought property in Colorado with Bitcoin, and blew millions of dollars. He and his criminal network also carried psychedelics to consumers from Memphis, Las Vegas, and Gulf Breeze to individuals all over the globe.

Their companies, TRIPWITHSCIENCE and PERFECTSHROOMS, were selling drugs made from mushrooms for $20 each.

The Central Ohio Cyber Drug Task Force, a law enforcement agency, captured the 12-person gang. They have ties to about 3,500 kg of hallucinogenic mushrooms.  

Except for James Barlow and his brother, all of them entered not-guilty pleas to the charges after their arrest in April while a trial date was being arranged.

James Barlow was a US Army soldier who was stationed in Las Vegas from 1994 until his eventual retirement in 2019. While in the Army, Barlow dabbled in many lawful businesses, such as the selling of humorous t-shirts. He sold shirts for nine years, from 2006 to 2015.

Authorities claim that he began selling narcotics online in 2013. James Barlow worked with Ronald Brust, who is believed to be the real mushroom farmer. Barlow grew mushrooms because he wanted to fund his expensive lifestyle, which had not been financially supported by his previous failing business.

A federal grand jury has indicted the following suspects, according to Columbus, Ohio’s WCMH-TV, the local NBC affiliate news station: 

• James Verl Barlow, 44, a Las Vegas, Nevada, resident
• James Barlow’s brother, Murray, Utah-born Matthew Taylor Barlow, 35,
• 45-year-old Ronald Royal Edward Brust resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Jennifer Helen Campbell, 42, of Murray, Utah, and Monet L. Carriere, 32, of Las Vegas, Nevada
• Tony Du Phan, 44, a citizen of Memphis, Tennessee, 

James Barlow: On the Dark Web, they sold what illegal drugs? 

Their primary product was a liquid distillation of hallucinogenic mushrooms, which they were promoting as their primary product. Before the mushrooms were sent to Tennessee and the United Kingdom, where they were appropriately packaged for sale, Matthew Barlow and others went through the process of liquefying them. The chemical was then packaged in vials containing nine milligrams and made available for purchase for twenty dollars. As of the year 2022, this equated to sales of cryptocurrencies in the United States dollar amounting to millions of dollars.

In actuality, what transpired in this case? 

According to the Department of Justice, a veteran of the military who served for 25 years quietly climbed to become one of the most successful drug traffickers on the dark web in the history of the world. He had a fortune of fifteen million dollars, and the value of his liquid mushroom sales in Bitcoin was more than one hundred forty million dollars at the time. Both his illicit enterprise and his luxurious way of living were consistent with one another. 

One of its own, James Barlow, a veteran of the United States military who served for 25 years, is said to have amassed a small fortune over eight years by selling psychedelic chemicals on various dark web bazaars under the moniker Tripwithscience. This is according to the United States government.

They anticipate that the criminal winnings of the 44-year-old resident of Las Vegas will amount to between $12 million and $15 million in assets, which will be distributed across expensive real estate, luxury vehicles, jet skis, mountains of cryptocurrency, and loaded bank accounts with fiat currency. The prosecutors are still tallying what they allege to be the criminal winnings of the individual.

A member of the United States Army was reportedly one of the most successful dealers to grace the underworld of the internet, according to the official narrative, which is correct.

According to the Justice Department, his brother, Matthew Barlow, who is 35 years old, is one of numerous individuals who are suspected of being co-conspirators. Matthew Barlow alleges that he was a leader of the illegal drug ring known as Tripwithscience. The Department of Justice asserts that the group of individuals was responsible for a complex and worldwide psychedelic operation that they carried out collectively.

They primarily dealt in liquid hallucinogenic mushrooms that were packaged in nine-milligram vials and sold for twenty dollars each on many different marketplaces. These markets included Silk Road 2.0 and Empire, both of which have since passed away, as well as more contemporary bazaars like Monopoly and Televend.

The government claims that the organization additionally marketed the principal Tripwithscience brand via the use of several shill accounts.

However, by January of this year, investigators had made significant progress and were able to retrieve material from what they said to be Barlow’s Google account. Both the vendor Tripwithscience and another one he helped manage, Perfectshrooms, were responsible for including spreadsheets on his Google Drive that included sales data, as stated in the search request that was submitted by the authorities.

The accounts had carried out 704 darknet transactions totaling slightly over 1,544 Bitcoin, which at the time were worth around $400,000 but are now worth almost $90 million. This information was disclosed on a tab that was titled “2015 Received,” and it was shown that the accounts had carried out these transactions.

Prosecutors claim that he made more than 2,300 Bitcoins between the years 2014 and 2020. These Bitcoins are now worth around 140 million dollars, according to the figures for each year’s Bitcoin revenue that are recorded on another spreadsheet. His salary as a sergeant first class in the United States Army was around $4,000 per month, according to a search warrant request submitted to the Department of Justice.

Even though it was a far lower estimate of Barlow’s wealth of $15 million, the Department of Justice did not provide any more information whatsoever.

As stated in the court records, he is believed to have paid a reshipper who was responsible for placing the hallucinogenic vials into packaging up to $6,000 in cryptocurrency every two weeks. This would have resulted in a significant outflow of funds for him.

In addition to the procurement and manufacturing of the narcotics, as well as their packaging, the court documents indicated that the co-conspirators were also compensated for their participation in the distribution of the drugs.

Based on the findings of the investigation, it was determined that Barlow was the owner of many more businesses. These businesses included Good to Glow and Illuminated Couture, both of which manufactured clothing with LED lights and were run by Brust, the individual who is suspected of being the producer of mushrooms.

A statement made by the Department of Justice stated that Barlow “was not generating enough if any, revenue from these entities to support his lifestyle.” This lifestyle included traveling on private jets, extensive world travel, transactions of high-end automobiles, and ownership of multiple properties, one of which was purchased in March for a total of $1.5 million.

The Department of Justice said that he was the owner of two jet skis in addition to two Tesla automobiles, both of which he had purchased, in recent years, for his pals.

According to the court records that were provided by the government, a search conducted on Google Maps for his property indicates that there are two Teslas, a Mercedes, and two jet skis parked outside of a large building that is one story tall.

A video that was taken from Barlow’s Google Drive account was allegedly used by the authorities to demonstrate that he had also discussed the use of Bitcoin to acquire property in Colorado. 

Although they were both arrested in April, James Barlow and his brother have not yet entered a plea. The siblings’ lawyer opted not to respond. To avoid being found guilty, Brust and the other conspirators have pled not guilty and are awaiting trial.

The brothers who are being accused of running a narcotics enterprise on the dark web before the Barlows are not the first. Two brothers were charged for operating a six-year scheme under the identity Pill Cosby and laundering $2.8 million over that period, according to a 2020 Forbes story.

According to the release, 150 alleged individuals have been arrested in connection with the acquisition or selling of illicit goods on the dark web. This is part of a larger campaign by international law enforcement against dark web retailers.

Along with 234 kg of narcotics and 45 firearms, more than $30 million in cash and digital assets were found, according to Europol. After leaving the military, he tried his best to establish a solid commercial career by opening many ventures, including apparel shops.

He had many companies, one of which being the online retailer SmartTorso.com, which sold “funny shirts for smart people.” It seems that this endeavor wasn’t very successful since he said in a 2015 article that he was barely breaking even and that it wasn’t enough to keep the business viable.

Furthermore, two years after starting his clothing line, Barlow was involved in the dark web industry in 2013, according to court documents. The extract leaves out any details on the operation of this dark web company.

Moreover, Barlow maintained a personal website that connected to his Facebook page. He conducted business as well. His Facebook background image had him on a luxury boat’s staircase surrounded by skimpily dressed ladies, wearing a light-up pocket square and bowtie. He was also wearing his full military equipment.

Additionally, Barlow registered domain names under the nickname “Cuddlefish,” which he had given himself, such as cuddlefish.xyz. 

James Barlow: Amazon’s AWS Adds BBVA and Veriff and Terminates Relationship With Triumph

Here is some more information on James Barlow and Triumph Technology Solutions that I am sharing with you. 

Amazon Web Services and Triumph Techs of James Barlow are no longer in business together (AWS). The Philadelphia-based business was considered a “premier tier partner,” the highest AWS rating, and we spoke with them often.

Rumor has it that the separation was due to Triumph’s aggressive estimates. This might be the reason. Triumph of James Barlow has partnered with smaller companies. Triumph predicts that its collaboration with Amazon, which grew throughout the epidemic, will expire in September 2023.

AWS has an infinite number of channel partners. Next, Triumph Tech was removed by AWS from a page that featured all of its many channel partners. Triumph CEO Raymond claims that the firm employs more than 170 people and is preparing to expand into Canada, Israel, and Europe.

Raymond told employees at a company meeting that the AWS contract will end in September 2023. I’ve been told that a lot of employees are advertising their availability due to unforeseen circumstances.

Simultaneously, AWS will be used by BBVA, a prominent international bank, to provide advanced data services and analytics in the cloud. It is the largest bank in Mexico and has the most well-known franchises in South America. It’s also Garanti, the biggest shareholder in Turkey.

BBVA is making significant strides in modernizing its artificial intelligence (AI) and data platforms. BBVA will use AWS to harness machine learning and analytics to transform its internal processes, boost risk management, accelerate development, and provide innovative solutions for its customers as part of its shift to become an AI- and data-driven corporation.

The same week, Veriff, the world’s largest supplier of identity verification, and AWS announced a partnership. Veriff will provide AWS’s IT infrastructure an advantage. By doing this, AWS will be able to fend off more sophisticated efforts at fraud and provide speedy, safe digital services to everyone, from those looking for a loan to people who need a taxi.

According to Veriff’s 2023 Identity Fraud Report, there was a 17.9% rise in fraudulent assaults in 2022. Fraudsters and rogues are using cutting-edge technologies, including generative AI, to access customer accounts, launder money, and steal identities. To remain ahead of these threats, Veriff has to swiftly build and deploy its identity verification technology model while upholding security.

Conclusion

In conclusion, three people have entered guilty pleas in Columbus federal court over their roles in the internet distribution of liquid hallucinogenic mushrooms. It was acknowledged by James Barlow, Matthew Taylor Barlow, and Jennifer Helen Campbell that they had plotted to acquire and distribute an analog of a psychoactive mushroom.

James Barlow also admitted to conspiring to launder money obtained from the selling of cocaine. He will give up $15 million in drug income and assets, including bitcoin, cash, a Tesla, and property in Brighton, Colorado, as part of his plea deal.

The defendants used the darknet to ship large amounts of liquid hallucinogenic mushrooms around Europe and the US for several years. They might all get terms of up to 20 years in jail.